Vending machine



Jan. 12, 1937.

R. H. KURTZ VENDING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1932 l ATTORNEY'.

`and the like, less series of carrier Patented; Jan. l2, i937 Ralph H. Kurtz, Chicago, Ill., assigner to ira Milton Jones, Thiensville, Wis.

Application May 18, 1932, Serial No. 611,974

11 Claims.

'Ihe present invention relates in general to improvements in the construction and in the mode of operation of vending machines of the type wherein selected articles or batches of material may be removed from confinement at the will of an operator who has manipulated the controlling mechanism of the machine.

Generally delined, an object of the invention is to provide an improved Vending machine which is simple in construction and efficient in operation.

It has heretofore been proposed to vend divers articles such as candy bars, cough drops, lozenges with a machine comprising an endtrays movably supported within a housing and capable of being selectively disposed in position for the discharge of their contents, upon insertion of a coin and subsequent manipulation of the delivery control mechanism. With these prior machines, a skillful manipulator can so position several of the adjacent trays, that the contents of more than one tray may be removed from the machine with the aid of a single coin admitted to the control mechanism, by virtue of the fact that the articles are not positively confined or retained within the open-topped carrier trays and merely rest loosely therein.

It is therefore a more specific object of the present invention to provide new and useful improvements in vending machines of the above described type, wherein the articles to be vended are positively retained in their carriers until the delivery control mechanism has been properly actuated, and wherein only the contents of one carrier can be discharged for each coin inserted in the control mechanism.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improved article discharge structure for vending machines, which will insure more effective delivery of the articles than has heretofore been possible with machines of the same general type.

A further specific object of the invention is to provide a carrier tray construction for vending machines, in which the articles are normally supported and retained without damaging delicate articles, and which will quickly release the normally confined articles at the desired moment.

Still another specic object of the invention is to provide improved coin controlled automatic delivery mechanism for vending machines, which is fool-prooi and certain in operation, and which will permit selective discharge of any one of a series of different kinds of articles.

Another specific object of the invention is to (Cl. S12-95) facilitate removal of the articles from such ma- 10 chines but which will also safeguard the owners or licensees against unscrupulous removal of the articles therefrom.

Still another specific object of the invention is to provide a vending machine of the selective 15` type having a relatively wide range of selectivity of articles vended thereby, which is simple and compact in construction, and which is moreover highly eiicient in operation.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of an embodiment of the invention and of the construction and mode of operating vending machines built in accordance therewith, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an improved vending machine having the improvement applied therein, a portion of the structure having been broken away in order to more clearly reveal internal mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the lower portion of 5 the vending machine illustrated in Fig. 1, showing the coin operated control mechanism, some of the parts again having been broken away in order to more clearly reveal other parts;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the lower portion of the vending machine, showing the internal carrier and discharge mechanisms with the carriers normally disposed and the discharge gate closed; and

Fig. l is a fragment of a similar View showing an article being discharged from one of the carriers and the discharge gate in open position.

Referring to the drawing, the vending machine shown therein by way of illustration comprises in general a continuous series of article carriers or trays 6 movable along a denite path within a housing casing I by means of a pair of endless chains 8, gearing S and a handle I0, so as to permit selective positioning of any tray 6 of the series, adjacent to the delivery opening II which is normally closed by a swing gate l2, and coin controlled mechanism for enabling actuation of t -e swing gate I2. The trays t may be formed of sheet metal and are normally pivotally suspended from the chains 8 in such manner that they remain in horizontal position with their open tops uppermost, but they may be tilted or partially inverted as indicated in Fig. 4, to discharge their contents through the opening li and upon the discharge plate i3. In order to thus maintain the trays 6 in ilXed position relative to the horizontal, each of the trays is provided with an end extension or piece it having a side projection engaging a track I5 secured to one side of the casing 1, and a section it of the track I5 is attached to and is movable by a gear segment E1 in the manner indicated in Fig. e, in order to effect tipping of the tray 6 Whose end piece i4 engages the section it when the coin controlled mechanism is actuated. The parallel chains 8 are disposed one on each side of the casing 1, and coact with sprockets i8 mounted on cross shafts i9 in a manner to avoid obstruction to a clear view of the successive trays 5, and the casing 1 is provided with a transparent window 2i! extending along its entire front portion so as to permit an operator to observe the contents of all of the forward trays of the series and to thus select any one of numerous kinds of articles carried by the successive trays S, for discharge purposes.

The coin controlled mechanism for effecting delivery of selected articles from the machine, comprises a coin receiving and return box 2l of well-known construction, a vertical guide chute 22 for conducting a coin 23 from the box 2l into actuating position, a lever operated ram or plunger 2d movable downwardly in guideways by a hand lever 25 to push the coin 23 so as to swing a trip lever 2t laterally, and a spring pressed retainer latch 21 operable by the trip lever 26 to release the swing gate i2 so that the latter may be opened by a spring 28. The trip lever 29 is mounted upon the same shaft 29 which pivotally supports the gear segment l1, and the swing gate i2 is supported upon a pivot shaft 39 carrying another gear segment 3l which meshes with the segment I1 so that swinging motion of either segment I1, 3l will be transmitted to the other. The hand lever 25 is pivotally supported upon vthe side of the casing 1 and is normally held in uppermost position as shown in Fig. 2, by means of a relatively strong spring 32, and has a medial pin 33 which coacts with a slot in the upper end of a longitudinally movable link 3d. The lower end of the link 3d carries a pin 35 which is movable along an arcuate slot 36 formed in the side wall of the casing 1, and the pin 35 is secured to the gear segment 3| which is movableY with the swing gate l2. The spring 2B coacts with pin 35, swing gate l2 and link 33 in such manner as to constantly urge these elements toward a position corresponding to opening of the swing gate I2. The spring 32, is however, suniciently strong to overpower the spring 28, and the stronger spring therefore maintains the gate l2 closed when the hand lever 25 is released. The latch 21 is pivotally supported upon a pin secured to the side of the casing 1, and has a laterally bent upper end which is cooperable directly with the lower end of the trip lever 23. The lower arm of the latch 21 is provided with a horizontal retainer bar 31 which is engageable with notches 38 at the swinging end of the gate l2 so as to lock the gate in closed position and thus seal the casobstructions.

ing discharge opening Il. The latch 21 is constantly urged in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4 by means of a coil spring surrounding the pivot shaft of the latch, so that when the trip lever 26 is released, and the gate i?. is returned to closed position, the latch 21 will automatically become effective to engage the notches 38 of the gate.

Each of the carrier trays is provided with a resilient retainer 39 which positively maintains the articles therein. Vhe retainers 39 may be formed of spring wire and are pivotally supported upon horizontal shafts i9 carried by the trays 6. The retainers 39 are normally urged toward closed position by projections I engaging the rear portions of the trays 6, but the retainers 39 may be swung upwardly about th-e pivot shafts d@ against the closing action of the projections 5I. Mounted within the casing 1 adjacent to the discharge opening II, is a transverse shaft 42 one end portion of which is provided with a resilient retainer actuating arm i3 which is adapted to engage the forward edge of a retainer 39 when the corresponding tray is properly positioned. The opposite end portion of the shaft 42 is provided with a through opening which is penetrated by a pin M mounted upon a pivot 45 carried by the gear segment 3i. The arrangement is obviously such that when a tray 6 is tilted or partially inverted by movement of the section lI6, and the swing gate i2 is simultaneously operated, the arm i3 will engage and raise the corresponding retainer 39 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4.

During normal operation of the improved vending machine, the trays 6 may be freely moved to any desired position along their course of travel as defined by the chains 8, by merely rotating the hand wheel Eli. The section I6 will be in alinement with the guides I5 so that normal operation of the hand wheel I9 will merely cause the successive trays E to advance upwardly or downwardly behind the window 2i) while remaining in the position indicated in Fig. 3. The swing gate I2 closes the opening Il so that the trays 6 are in-i accessible and the trays may be loaded with articles of any desired kind such as candy bars, packages of cough drops, or packages of lozenges.

If it is kdesired to remove the contents of any selected tray t of the series, it is only necessary to bring that tray into position near the discharge opening il, the actual positioning being made possible by an indicator arrow on the exterior of the machine. When the tray 6 has been thus properly positioned, insertion of a coin into the coin box 2l will be followed by delivery of the coin 23 through the vertical chute 22 to the position indicated in Fig. 2. The machine is then in position for actual discharge of the article from the tray, and the tray is positioned as indicated in Fig. 3. By pressing down upon the actuating lever 25, the plunger 24 will be moved 'downwardly into engagement with the coin 23 and the spring 32 will be stretched. The downward movement of the plunger 33 will cause the coin 23 to swing the trip lever 26 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, thereby swinging the latch 21 out of engagement with the notches 3B of the gate l2. As soon as the gate I2 has been thus released, the spring 28 will become effective to pull the link 33 downwardly and to swing the gate I2 from the position indicated in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, thus clearing the delivery opening I I of This movement of the gate I2 is transmitted through the gear segment 3I to the gear segment l1 and from thence to the rail section I6 which tilts or partially inverts the corresponding tray 6 .and dumps the contents thereof' upon the discharge chute i3 so that thevendor may freely withdraw the article from the ma.

' chine. During the tilting of the tray' 6, the swinging movement of the gear segment 3l is transmitted through the shaft 45 and rod M to the shaft 42, causing this shaft to swing and to bring the arm 43 into engagement with the forward portion of the retainer 39 of the tray to thereby release the article from confinement at the same time that the tray is partially inverted. It will thus be noted that the discharge-movement of partial inversion of the tray S to deliver the contents therefrom, is accompanied by a lifting of the retainer 39 of that particular tray only, While the contents of the remaining trays 6 remain positively conned therein. The insertion of a single coin into the machine will therefore permit Withdrawal of the contents of only one tray, and this tray may be any selected one of the entire series.

From the foregoing description it Will be apparent that the present invention provides simple and highly effective means for effecting rapid delivery of the contents from a selected tray of a vending machine. The improvement is obviously applicable to vending machines of various kinds, and is especially applicable to a vending machine of the type wherein the successive trays are normally retained in horizontal position and are tilted or inverted during discharge of articles therefrom. The improved confining and release mechanism has been successfully applied to existing vending machines of this latter type, and has proven highly successful in commercial operation. The retainer actuating arm 43 contacts with the retainers 39 only when an article is being delivered from a tray 6, and does not interfere with the normal movement of the trays when a selection isbeing made. The discharge slide or plate I3 is also formed to facilitate delivery of the articles and to avoid catching thereof at the upper edge of this plate.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of operation herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening, a series of article carriers movable Within said casing, means for moving said carriers along a definite path extending in proximity to said opening, coin controlled means for effecting discharge of the contents of each carrier at said opening, a gate normally closing said opening, and means operable by said gate for positively retaining the article within each carrier until the same is positioned adjacent said opening and said coin controlled means is operated.

2. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening controlled by a movable gate, an endless series of article carriers movable Within said casing, means for moving said carriers along a denite path extending in proximity to said opening, coin controlled means for effecting discharge of the contents of a selected carrier of said series through said opening, and means operable by said gate for positively preventing delivery of an article from any carrier of said series until operation of said coin controlled means has been eiected.

3.In combination,` a casing having `a dis-U' charge opening and a gate normally closing said` openingan endless series of article carriers 'movable Within said casing and past said opening, means for moving said carriers along a definite path and for normally maintaining the same in horizontal position, coin controlled means for inverting selected carriers of said series to effect discharge of the contents thereof through said opening, and means operable by the movement of said gate for releasing the article from a selected carrier only When said coin controlled means has been operated.

4,. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening anda swingable gate normally closing said opening, 1an article carrier-'movable withinsaid casing past said opening, coin controlled means for tilting said carrier at said opening to discharge the contents thereof, and means operable by the movement of said gate for positively preventing delivery of said contents unless said discharge means has been manipulated.

5. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening and a swingable gate normally closing said opening, an article carrier movable within said casing past said opening, coin controlled means for tilting said carrier at said opening to discharge the contents thereof, and means cooperable With said gate for positively preventing delivery of said contents unless said discharge means has been manipulated.

6. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening and a swingable gate normally closing said opening, an article carrier movable within said casing past said opening, coin controlled means for moving said carrier at said opening to discharge the contents thereof, a retainer movable relative to said carrier for normally maintaining the contents thereof within said carrier, and means movable by said gate for releasing said retainer to permit discharge of said contents.

7. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening and a movable gate normally closing said opening, an -article carrier movable along a definite path within said casing and past said opening, coin controlled means for displacing said carrier at said opening to discharge the contents thereof, an article retainer carried by said carrier and movable relative thereto, and means operable by the movement of said gate for displacing said retainer relative to said carrier during discharging movement of the latter to permit free delivery of an article therefrom.

8. In combination, a casing having a discharge opening and a swingable gate normally closing said opening, a series of article carriers movable within said casing past said opening, coin controlled means for tilting a selected carrier of said series at said opening to discharge the contents thereof, a retainer pivotally supported by each of said carriers, and means operable by the movement of said gate for producing movement of the retainer of a selected carrier about its pivot to permit free discharge of an article from said carrier.

9. In combination, a series of article carriers, means for moving said carriers along an endless path, a movable gate, coin controlled means for inverting each carrier adjacent to said gate, means carried by each of said carriers for positively retaining the article therein until inversion thereof, and means operable by said gate to displace said retaining means of each carrier during inversion thereof to permit free delivery of the articles.

10. vIn a vending machine including a discharge chute and a door normally closing the discharge chute, a plurality of article supports each selectively positionable to discharge its contents into the chute, instrumentalities to eect the opening of the door of the discharge chute and the discharge of an article from a support into the chute, a guard carried by each article support to hold an article thereon, said guard being movable to permit the discharge of an article from the chute, and a lever operable by the opening of the door of the chute and positioned so as to engage the guard of any support disposed in discharging positionto move said guard to its inoperative position as the instrument-alities eiecting the opening of the door and discharging of the article from the chute are actuated.

11. In a vending machine, the combinationof an article supporting tray, a discharge chute having a door, and means to simultaneously open Y the door and tilt the tray, a guard to hold an article on the tray, said guard being movable to release the article for discharge and having a part adjacent one end of the tray, and means Wholly disposed at one end of the tray and operable upon said part of the guard concomitantly with the opening of the door to move the guard to its inoperative position.

RALPH'H. KURTZ. 

